1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the semiconductor power devices. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved and novel manufacturing process and device configuration for providing the MOSFET device with shielded trench gates with cells provided with Schottky source contact for improving performance of high frequency power switching, H-bridge and synchronization rectification applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the applications of Schottky diodes become more widespread, particularly for reducing the power consumption and increasing the switching speed, it becomes even more important to improve the device configuration and manufacturing processes to reduce the production costs of the Schottky rectifying devices. One particular important consideration is the reduction of the surface areas on the semiconductor substrate occupied by the Schottky diodes. Reduction of the surface-area utilization of the Schottky diodes provides a key to reduce the manufacturing costs and to further miniaturize the size and shape of electronic devices for achieving portability and functionality enhancements. However, in order to achieve the purpose of surface utilization while maintaining current conducting areas, the Schottky diodes are sometimes implemented by filling trenches with a barrier material. The trench Schottky diode configuration leads to another technical difficulty due to the breakdown vulnerability at trench corners where there are sharp edges. In order to overcome such difficulties, a round trench bottom is necessary and that causes the production cost to increase. Due to these reasons, a person of ordinary skill in the art of designing and manufacturing devices including Schottky diodes is still confronted with the technical difficulties and limitations that a reduction of production cost cannot easily achieved.
The Schottky diode has been used to replace PN diodes in many applications. The low forward drop of the Schottky diode in the forward conduction mode reduces the power dissipation of the device. The conduction of the Schottky is through majority carrier, so minority carrier charge storage effects do not occur in the switching characteristics of the device. Therefore the Schottky diode is a preferred over the PN junction diodes in many power applications. FIG. 1A shows a typical Schottky diode where a Schottky barrier metal is contacted to a n-type silicon. The P+ junctions are placed at the edge of the barrier metal contact areas to eliminate the premature breakdown of the device. The forward voltage of the diode is directly proportional to the Schottky barrier height of the metal. It is then desirable to use low Schottky barrier metal to make the diode in order to reduce the conduction loss of the diode. However, the leakage current of the Schottky in the reverse blocking mode is also determined by the Schottky barrier height. Low Schottky barrier height will give rise to higher leakage current in the reverse blocking operation of the diode.
In order to reduce the reverse leakage of the Schottky diode, P-type junctions are placed in the silicon as shown in FIG. 1B. In the reverse blocking mode, the n-silicon is at a higher potential with respect to the Schottky barrier metal. The PN junction is also reverse bias. The depletions from two adjacent p-type junctions merged and shield the surface Schottky barrier from the high reverse voltage thus reduce the leakage current of the diode. The disadvantage of the JBS is the reduced Schottky surface area from the p-type junctions. For higher breakdown voltage Schottky diode, deeper p-type junction is usually required. Deeper junction also has more lateral diffusion. The Schottky area utilization could be quite low for the high breakdown voltage JBS. An alternative way to shield the Schottky barrier from the reverse voltage is the Trench MOS Barrier Schottky as shown in FIG. 1C. With the trench Schottky barrier, the depletions from surrounding the lower portions of the trenches pinch off and shield the Schottky barrier junction on top the mesa. The shape of the trenches affects the breakdown of the dielectric in the trenches. Rounding the bottom and top corners are required to reduce the leakage of the TMBS. The rounding of the sharp corners requires extra process steps and specialized equipment and all these requirements cause an increase in the production costs.
Therefore, a need still exists in the art of implementing the Schottky diodes in the electronic device including the power semiconductor devices to provide new device configuration and manufacturing method in configuring and manufacturing the Schottky diodes to overcome and resolve the above discussed problems and limitations.